Wednesday, January 06, 2010

We look back at the drama and excitement of a memorable decade for the Premier League.

The Noughties proved to be a stunning success for the Premier League which went from strength to strength.
With ever-improving facilities and an influx of top stars from across the globe, the game has become more popular than ever.
The likes of Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and many more have captured the imagination of fans the world over.
The standard is now higher than ever, the game more exciting than at any time in its history - and the next 10 years look likely to be even better.
The decade ended as it began - with Manchester United reigning supreme as Premier League champions.

2000

Manchester United went into the new millennium in second spot behind Leeds but came good to win the title in 2000 with an enormous 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and scoring 97 goals in the process.
Even new £10.5m signing Thierry Henry couldn't keep the Gunners in the chase. Leeds finished third while Chelsea beat Aston Villa 2-0 to win the last FA Cup final at the old Wembley stadium.
The year saw the demise of fairytale club Wimbledon who joined the Football League in 1977 and took just nine years to reach the top flight.
They were relegated 12 years to the day since beating Liverpool to win the FA Cup. A 2-0 final-day defeat at Southampton saw them take the drop instead of Bradford City.
The Bantams survived on the last day of the campaign thanks to a 1-0 win over Liverpool who missed out on a Champions League spot as a result.
Also relegated were Sheffield Wednesday and newly-promoted Watford with 24 points, then a Premier League record low total.

2000/01

Sir Alex Ferguson's men won the 2000/01 FA Carling Premiership title by 10 points from their fierce rivals Arsenal to become the first team to take the crown three years in a row.
The United manager said: "This is the toughest league in the world and winning three in a row is something special. Perhaps we're like a great artist whose work is only really appreciated with the passing of time."
To their fans, their triumph was made all the sweeter as neighbours Manchester City were relegated in their first season back in the top flight.
They finished third from bottom, eight points behind Derby County to go down alongside Bradford City who equalled Swindon Town's unwanted record low number of wins with just five.
Also taking the drop were Premier League founder members Coventry City after 34 years in the top flight.
Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink finished as the leading marksman in the FA Carling Premiership with 23 goals, four more than Marcus Stewart of Ipswich Town.
Tipped for relegation before the season started, the Tractor Boys stunned even their own fans by emerging as unlikely challengers for a Champions League spot. They eventually finished fifth, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time since 1982. Manager George Burley was voted "Manager of the Year" for the achievement.
Liverpool finished third, just ahead of Champions League semi-finalists Leeds United who broke the English transfer record when they signed Rio Ferdinand from West Ham United for £18m.
Matthew Le Tissier scored the last ever goal at The Dell as Southampton beat Arsenal 3-2 before moving to St Mary's.

2001/02

With a new sponsor, the Barclaycard Premiership saw a shift in power as Arsenal lifted the title after three successive seasons as runners-up.
Fired by Thierry Henry's 24 goals (one more than Hasselbaink and Shearer), the Gunners won 13 matches in a row to finish seven points ahead of nearest challengers Liverpool. They became the first side to score in every Premier League match, remaining unbeaten away from home.
In a moment of sweet irony, Arsene Wenger's Double winners clinched the crown with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford of all places.
Despite a nine-match winning run, Manchester United finished only third after winning just six of their opening 15 matches, a run which saw them slip to ninth at one stage - although they did stage a memorable fight-back to win 5-3 at Tottenham Hotspur after being 3-0 down at the break.
All three promoted sides (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) stayed up - for the first time ever in the Premier League.
Instead Ipswich were relegated just a year after qualifying for the UEFA Cup and seeing Burley take the Manager of the Year prize.
With just one win from the opening 18 matches, their fate seemed sealed. But a run of six victories in seven matches lifted them to 12th place and possible safety. However, a second loss of form, culminating in a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on the last day of the season, sent the Tractor Boys down along with Leicester City and Derby County who lost seven of their final eight fixtures.

2002/03

Stung by their slip and buoyed by the British record signing of Rio Ferdinand from Leeds for £30m, Manchester United regained the Barclaycard Premiership crown finishing five points clear of the Gunners.
Arsenal had looked odds-on to retain their title as they led the league by eight points in March but Sir Alex Ferguson's men came up strongly on the rails, not losing a match after their 3-1 Boxing Day defeat by Middlesbrough.
By 3rd May, the Red Devils were nine points clear of their London rivals whose cause was lost the following day thanks to a 3-2 reverse at the hands of Leeds who secured safety in the process.
Arsene Wenger's men did have the consolation of retaining the FA Cup, beating Southampton 1-0 at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
Sunderland finished bottom with just 19 points - a new Premier League record low. They were joined through the trapdoor by newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion.
The final relegation place went to luckless West Ham United who went down with 42 points - the highest tally for a relegated side under the 20-club format.
Peter Schmeichel - now with Manchester City - brought down the curtain on his illustrious career while City themselves called time on their Maine Road home, losing 1-0 at home to Southampton before their move to the City of Manchester Stadium.

2003/04

The following campaign proved a landmark in the history of the Premier League as Arsenal's "Invincibles" claimed the crown - without losing a single match.
With Henry banging in 30 of his side's 73 goals and the defence shipping just 26, the Gunners became the first team since Preston North End in 1889 to go the entire season unbeaten in the league.
They clinched the title with four matches to spare, thanks to a 2-2 draw at the home of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsene Wenger's side finished 11 points clear of Chelsea whose new owner Roman Abramovich had spent £100m in pursuit of the crown.
Manchester United were third after losing David Beckham to Real Madrid for £25m - replacing him with then unknown winger Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon.
The Red Devils had the consolation of defeating Millwall in the FA Cup final after beating Arsenal in the semi-finals.
Leeds United's financial problems caught up with them as they were relegated with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City - all on 33 points. Everton survived, finishing fourth from bottom.

2004/05

Chelsea's massive investment paid off as they won what was now the Barclays Premiership.
With flamboyant character Jose Mourinho at the helm, the Blues racked up a new Premier League record total of 95 points.
The self-declared Special One breezed in saying before the season: "We have top players and, sorry if I'm arrogant, we have a top manager."
He made actions speak as loud as his words as the most expensive team ever (costing an estimated £250m) conceded just 15 goals and won 29 matches - also new records.
They lost just once - to a Nicolas Anelka penalty at Manchester City. The title was secured with a 2-0 win at Bolton on 30th April.
The relegation battle was the closest ever in the Premier League. Going into the final day of the campaign, no-one had gone down and four clubs were battling to avoid the three places through the trapdoor.
West Bromwich Albion defied the "Christmas curse" by becoming the first team to stay up after being bottom of the table on Christmas Day.
They beat Portsmouth 2-0 to survive at the expense of Norwich City, Crystal Palace and Southampton.
Despite selling Wayne Rooney to Manchester United, Everton finished fourth in a remarkable 12-month transformation.
Liverpool finished in fifth but beat AC Milan on penalties to win the Champions League in dramatic fashion coming from 3-0 down at half-time to level the scores. They were allowed to defend their crown, which meant that the Barclays Premiership had five representatives in the following season's competition.

2005/06

Champions Chelsea picked up where they left off, winning their first nine matches of the new campaign before finally being held 1-1 at Everton on 23rd October.
They suffered their first reverse in November, going down 1-0 at rivals Manchester United who were to string together a 10-match winning run but left themselves too much to do.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men finished eight points behind the Blues but won the League Cup, beating Wigan Athletic 4-0.
Liverpool were third with 82 points - their highest top-flight total since 1988. They also won the FA Cup on penalties after Steven Gerrard's last-minute screamer salvaged a 3-3 draw against West Ham.
Champions League runners-up Arsenal retained their place in the competition on the final day of the season with a 4-2 win over Wigan in the last ever match at Highbury.
That saw them leapfrog neighbours Tottenham who went into the final day of the campaign holding the whip-hand in fourth place but an attack of food poisoning contributed to a costly 2-1 defeat at West Ham.
Sunderland were relegated with a new record low points tally - just 15. They were joined by West Brom and Birmingham.
Portsmouth survived after Harry Redknapp made a shock return to Fratton Park from local rivals Southampton and sparked an amazing transformation in their fortunes.

2006/07

Chelsea missed out on a hat-trick of titles but it was one of the closest title races for years, even though a Ronaldo-inspired Manchester United eventually finished six points clear.
Last-gasp winners against Fulham and bitter rivals Liverpool kept United firmly in control and the destination of the title was all but mathematically decided when United came back from two goals down to beat Everton 4-2 and Chelsea were held by Bolton Wanderers.
The Blues' hopes were hindered by a nasty head injury to goalkeeper Petr Cech who was hurt at newly-promoted Reading. The Royals finished a creditable eighth but narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup place on the final day of the season.
West Ham pulled off a great escape as manager Alan Curbishley dragged them to safety, beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on the last day of the season to secure Barclays Premier League football for another year.
A dramatic final day of the campaign saw West Ham, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United all desperate to avoid the drop - with the latter two playing each other. Sheffield United were the unlucky losers as a 2-1 defeat sent them down with Watford and Charlton Athletic. Wigan escaped on goal difference.
In its 15th season, the Premier League saw its 15,000th goal, scored by Fulham's Moritz Volz in their victory over Chelsea on 30th December.

2007/08

Now known as the Barclays Premier League, the title race went down to the final day of the campaign with Manchester United again just edging out Chelsea who replaced manager Jose Mourinho with Avram Grant in September.
However it was Arsenal who led the table for most of the season, until they suffered a loss of form in March.
They let slip the lead at Stamford Bridge going down to a Didier Drogba double as Chelsea took over as the main threat to United.
Grant's side held the advantage until they conceded a costly late equaliser at home to Wigan who then lost 2-0 at home to Sir Alex Ferguson's men on the final day of the campaign.
Goals by Ronaldo (his 31st of an amazing campaign) and Ryan Giggs sealed the silverware while the Blues were being held 1-1 at home by Bolton Wanderers to finish two points adrift.
United also got the better of Chelsea in the Champions League final, winning on penalties.
Derby County always looked destined for the drop but the battle to avoid the other two relegation places went to the final day of the campaign.
Two from Birmingham City, Reading and Fulham would slip into the Championship. Roy Hodgson had earned much praise for bringing Fulham back from the brink, and his side were in control of the situation on the final day, knowing that a win at Portsmouth would keep them up.
Birmingham and Reading did all they could to avoid relegation, beating Blackburn and Derby 4-1 and 4-0 respectively but a 76th minute header from Danny Murphy saw Fulham maintain their Barclays Premier League status at the expense of the Blues and the Royals.

2008/09

Holders Manchester United defended their crown to win the Premier League for the 11th time.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men clinched a hat-trick of titles on the penultimate weekend following a 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal on 16th May 2009. It was the Red Devils' 18th championship overall putting them level with Liverpool.
They held off a strong challenge from Liverpool who ended Chelsea's 86-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win in October.
Chelsea were third but won the FA Cup under the short-term charge of Guus Hiddink who replaced Luis Felipe Scolari. Harry Redknapp took over from Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur who endured their worst start to a Premier League season but finished the campaign strongly.
Manchester City hit the headlines when they smashed the British transfer record to sign Brazilian superstar Robihno from Real Madrid for £32m.
Another record went as Edwin van der Sar pipped Petr Cech with 14 straight clean sheets.
Ex-Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer returned to his old club as manager for the final eight matches due to Joe Kinnear's ill health but he could only register one victory in that time as the Magpies were relegated with West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough. Hull City and Sunderland survived on the final day of the campaign.
Roy Hodgson's Fulham claimed the final place in the newly-formed Europa League, finishing a highly creditable seventh just a year after avoiding the drop on the final day of the 2007/08 season.

2009

The first half of the 2009/10 Barclays Premier League campaign has been more exciting than ever with goals flying in.
The Barclays Premier League reached 500 goals at the earliest point in its history.
Nadir Belhadj chalked up the milestone when he put Portsmouth in front against Liverpool at Fratton Park, beating the previous fastest in the 1994/95 season when it took 185 fixtures to reach the milestone.
This time the tally has been chalked up 17 matches earlier than ever before - in just 168 fixtures.
With Liverpool making a stuttering start and an early Champions League exit, Chelsea and Manchester United have again disputed top spot.
Arsenal remained hard on their heels and Manchester City signalled their intent by sacking manager Mark Hughes and replacing him with Roberto Mancini. The year finished with another managerial casualty as Gary Megson lost his job at Bolton Wanderers.